Captain Greybeard - Page 149 of 209 - Your expert guide to cruise ships and cruise holidays

Royal visit for Cunard’s QM2

We're still waiting for Cunard (or Buckingham Palace) to confirm the identity of the person who will be naming Queen Elizabeth in October. Everyone knows who it should be, but it could be a few more weeks yet before we know for certain. Her Majesty is on a State Visit to Canada this week, and she will be addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York next Tuesday, so she probably has other things on her mind just now. The Palace Press Office will only announce Royal engagements up to eight weeks in advance, so we could be left [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:24+00:00 29 June 2010|Cruise News|0 Comments

Food for thought on Epic

There are so many restaurants and bars on board Norwegian Epic that it would be a major accomplishment to get round them all in a week-long cruise. My hopes of sampling them all during two-and-a-half days on board were doomed to failure from the start, but it was worth a shot. The final score was a paltry six restaurants. Not sure about the bars; think I lost count after a surfeit of tonic water and Coke (or was it the gin and the Jack Daniels?) The first night started with drinks in the bar of the Moderna Churrascaria restaurant followed [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:24+00:00 28 June 2010|Cruise Food & Drink|0 Comments

Dream show, nightmare dinner

Norwegian Epic is more of a floating resort than a cruise ship - think an Atlantis-style palace or a Las Vegas casino complex - ports of call are very much secondary to food and entertainment which will be the real attractions for passengers. In the ship's Spiegel Tent you get both for the price of one with Cirque Dreams, a cabaret show and dinner combined performed in a room decked out like . . . a circus tent.. It's an weird but fascinating combination, with most of the performances taking place on a tiny circular area in the centre of [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:25+00:00 28 June 2010|Cruise Entertainment|2 Comments

P&O’s Azura goes downtown

Cruise ships visiting the Norwegian port of Stavanger berth almost in the centre of town, close to the bars and restaurants and - at the right time of year - in a handy position for the annual beach volleyball tournament. P&O's newest vessel, the 116,000-ton Azura was in port today and completely dominated the place, as this picture from the town's webcam shows. One of the most prominent buildings in town, the octagonal Valberg watch tower (on the right of the picture), was completely dominated, and passengers must have been looking down on it from the Venezia restaurant on board. [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:25+00:00 27 June 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise Ships|0 Comments

Left-hand down a bit . . .

You know how difficult it can sometimes be to squeeze into the a space in the supermarket car park. Imagine how tricky it must be to park something hundreds of times bigger, like a cruise ship. There are currents, tides and the wind to contend with, it's essential to get your vessel alongside in precisely the right position to line up with gangways and things, and there's no time to mess about because passengers have to get ashore and dash to the airport. Captain Albert Schoonderbeek faced all this a couple of days ago when he brought Holland America's Prinsendam [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:25+00:00 27 June 2010|Cruise Destinations|1 Comment

Watching a World Cup Epic on the high seas

Of all the places to watch England’s World Cup victory over Slovenia earlier this week, one of the most exciting must have been aboard the giant new cruise ship Norwegian Epic. Hundreds of fans sat on deckchairs and sun-loungers, sipping ice-cold beer as the sun beat down on the Solent and a helicopter circled overhead taking publicity pictures. Like the England team, the billion-dollar Epic – the most eagerly awaited ship of 2010 – was burdened with huge expectations. And just like Rooney & Co, Epic was showing signs of letting us all down. A series of shipyard fires threatened [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:25+00:00 25 June 2010|Cruise News|1 Comment

Tax cut for Alaska cruises

While talk in the UK has been about tax increases in the coalition government's emergency budget, there's one place in the world where taxes are being reduced - for cruise passengers at least. Legislation to reduce the levy on visitors to Alaska has now become law, although it will be some time before the number of ships visiting the region can return to previous levels. Lines such as Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean sent ships elsewhere in reaction to the $46-a-head tax, and itineraries are already set for 2011. Loss of business as a result of the withdrawal is [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-06-25T11:55:05+00:00 25 June 2010|Cruise Destinations, Cruise News|0 Comments

Epic’s best-selling cabins

The most talked-about cabins on board Norwegian Epic are ironically the smallest - the 128 single Studio staterooms which have a mere 100 square-feet of living space - less than half the size of a regular balcony cabin. I must say I prefer to have a sea view, but these cabins are proving popular among single passengers, and together with the luxury suites are among the first to sell out. Tucked away along corridors running the length of decks 11 and 12, the studios each have a full-sized bed, a wall of storage space including a flat-screen TV and hand-basin; [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:25+00:00 24 June 2010|Cruise Ships|1 Comment

Steady as she goes for NCL

The news from today's Press conference on board Norwegian Epic is that . . . well, there is no news. Putting a positive spin on the way in which NCL's fortunes have been turned around since re-structuring began in 2008, CEO Kevin Sheehan had to admit that there are no firm plans for new ships to be added to the fleet in the wake of the billion-dollar Epic. The company's former bosses had originally ordered two ships but the economic downturn a couple of years ago forced a major re-think and one of them was cancelled. Now Epic has been [...]

By John Honeywell| 2010-06-23T16:46:07+00:00 23 June 2010|Cruise News|1 Comment

Epic is back to front

Confused? I was, when I saw the view from Norwegian Epic's bridgecam - which is, naturally enough, directed over the ship's bow - displayed on a big screen at the stern,. The two ends of the 153,000-ton ship, which arrived in Southampton this afternoon, are 1,080 feet apart. The screen is a feature of Spice H2O, a three-level adults-only sundeck which can be converted into a lively club and bar at night, with a small pool which transforms into a dance floor. Meanwhile, adrenaline junkies were getting their fix in the Epic's three giant waterslides, one of which - the [...]

By John Honeywell| 2017-06-15T16:00:25+00:00 22 June 2010|Cruise Ships|0 Comments